Mail sorting trays



Oct. 10, 1961 "r. c. RICHARDS ETAL 3,003,626

MAIL SORTING TRAYS Filed Aug. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS THOMAS C. RICHARDS BENJAMIN SCHEPETIN ATT NEY.

Oct. 10, 1961 '1'. c. RICHARDS ETAL 3,003,625

MAIL SORTING TRAYS Filed Aug. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V E N TO RS THOMAS C. RICHARDS BENJAMIN SCH EPETIN MWQQ ATT RNEY.

United States Patent Office 3,003,626 Patented Oct. 10, 1961 MAIL SORTING TRAYS Thomas C. Richards, 1544 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y., and Benjamin Schepetin, New York, NY. (2420 Glenwood Road, Brooklyn, N.Y.), assignors of twenty percent to George Bohrer, Bayonne, NJ.

Filed Aug. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 835,004 5 Claims. (Cl. 206-73) This invention relates to mail sorting trays of the general type used in post ofiices and mail sorting and distributing departments of large commercial and industrial companies and public and private institutions.

Conventional mail sorting trays are used in conjunction with pigeonhole receptacles or like depositories. The mail is delivered in a sorting tray to a mail sorting clerk, whose task it is to remove the mail from such tray and deposit it in appropriate pigeonholes. Usually, a single such tray is delivered to a single clerk at any one time and only one hand is used to remove mail therefrom and to deposit it in the pigeonholes. Sometimes, a quantity of mail is removed from the tray with one hand, usually the left hand, and it is held in that hand while the other hand sorts and pigeonholes the mail thus held, as above described. In either case, however, the actual sorting and depositing of the mail is done with only one hand and it is immaterial whether this is done directly from the tray or from the other hand.

It is common knowledge that this is a very tedious and tiresome procedure. It is wasteful of time and energy and mental ability. The average mail sorter is mentally qualified to handle a greater volume of mail than he is physically able to manage with only one hand. But no way The object of this invention is the provision of mailsorting means adapted for use with both hands, alternately, interchangeably or otherwise. Briefly stated, the present invention provides two generally mirror-opposite mail sorting trays which are so located and oriented relative to each other that the mail in one tray may be removed, sorted and pigeonholed with one hand while the mail in the other tray may be removed, sorted and pigeonholed by the other hand. It has been found that the best, easiest and fastest procedure is to remove one letter at a time, first with one hand and then with the other, first from one tray and then from the other, and so on until all of the mail is removed from the trays and pigeonholed. The trays are so positioned relative to the mail sorter that the addresses may be noted even before the letters are removed from the trays. As one letter is removed with one hand from one tray and moved in the direction of the appropriate pigeonhole, a second letter is removed with the other hand from the other tray and then pigeonholed. This procedure continues until all of the letters in both trays are deposited in the pigeonholes, the efiort in accomplishing this result being divided sub stantially equally between the two hands. The result is a substantial saving in time and physical efiort, there is a marked reduction in the physical strain to which the mail sorter is subjected and there is a corresponding improvement in the mental stresses which such physical exertions normally produce.

The mail sorting trays which the present invention provides are supported in adjacent, side-by-side relationship, one tray being partly forward of the other. The two trays are provided with mail supporting platforms which are tilted downwardly toward each other at their near side edges and a pair of retaining walls project upwardly from said near side edges. The mail supporting platforms are also tilted forwardly and downwardly and a second pair of retaining walls are provided along the forward edges of said platforms. The mail is supported both by the platforms and by said retaining walls, said walls preventing the mail from slipping oflE the platforms.

The mail sorting tray which is herein described and claimed may be placed on a horizontal supporting surface such as a table top. On the other hand, it may be provided with its own supporting structure which would enable it to stand on a floor or to assume an elevated position above a table top. This supporting structure possesses, basically, the same structural features as the mail sorting tray itself. By this is meant, that the supporting structure is provided with a pair of tilted platforms which correspond to and are adapted to support the tilted platforms of the mail sorting tray. Similarly, the supporting structure is provided with a pair of retaining walls which correspond to the first mentioned retaining walls of the mail supporting tray, said retaining walls of the supporting structure being adapted to support said retaining walls of the mail sorting tray.

Said supporting structure includes a pedestal or other suitable supporting means such as legs or a frame or the like. This supporting means may be relatively tall and intended to stand on a fioor, supporting the mail sorting tray at table or counter height. By the same token, said supporting means may be made relatively short and adapted to support the mail sorting tray on a table top or at a slightly elevated level above a table top.

In the preferred form of this invention the mail sorting tray comprises a pair of trays which are joined to each other in the manner above described. The supporting means is also provided with a corresponding pair of supporting platforms which are adapted, as above mentioned, to support the two mail supporting trays which comprise the preferred embodiment of the invention. In a modified form of invention, however, the mail sorting tray consists of two separate trays which are joined only functionally and by reason of the fact that they are mounted on a single supporting means and are there held in substantially the same relationship as is the case with the two trays which are joined together to form the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a mail sorting tray made in accordance with one form of this invention, said tray being shown mounted on its supporting structure.

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof looking in the direction of arrows 2, 2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a back view thereof looking in the direction of arrows 3, 3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the supporting structure for said mail sorting tray.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of said mail sorting tray as seen from the rear.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of a mail sorting tray adapted for use in conjunction with the supporting structure shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, similar to that of FIG. 4, showing a modified form of supporting structure for the modified form of mail sorting tray shown in FIG. 6.

Referring now to the details of this invention as shown in the drawing, and particularly to the preferred form of this invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive,

it will be noted that a mail sorting tray made in accordance vw'th said form of the invention comprises a pair of substantially rectangular platforms 12 and 14 respectively which are adapted to support two piles or stacks of letters or other forms of mail, a pair of side retaining walls 16 and 18 respectively against which the side edges of the letters abut, a second pair of retaining walls 20 and 22 respectively against which the ends of the letters abut, a connecting strip 24 joining the first mentioned retaining walls, a pair of downwardly projectingend walls 26 and 28 respectively and a pair of downwardly projecting side walls 30 and 32 respectively, said first and second pairs of downwardly projecting walls being adapted to support the mail sorting tray on a horizontal surface.

To be more specific, it will'be observed that said downwardly projecting end and side walls 26, 28, 30 and 32 are each and all substantially trapezoidal in shape, their lower edges being all disposed on a common plane. These downwardly projecting walls are thereby adapted for positioning on a fiat horizontal surface and thereby to support the mail sorting tray on a table top or the like. It will however be understood that said downwardly projecting walls are merely illustrative of various kinds of conventional supports, such as legs or a framework by which the mail supporting tray may be supported on a horizontal surface. The trapezoidal shapes of the several downwardly projecting walls render it possible to support platforms 12 and 14 in tilted positions as shown in the drawing. These platforms are tilted downwardly in two directions, in the direction of their near or facing side edges, and in the direction of their forward ends. As. appears. from the drawing, downwardly projecting end walls 26 and 28 support the back ends of said platforms while downwardly projecting walls 30 and 32 support, the outer or far side edges of said platforms.

Retaining walls 16 and 18 are disposed approximately at right angles to platforms 12 and 14 and the second pair of retaining walls 20 and 22 are also disposed substantially at right angles to said platforms and also to said first mentioned retaining walls 16 and 18. It will be noted that retaining walls 20 and 22 are shaped, substantially, in the form of right angle triangles, the hypotenuse of each said triangle being free and the other two sides being connected, as above indicated, to said platforms 12 and 14 and said first mentioned retaining walls 16 and 18. It will also be noted that connecting strip 24 is arcuately shaped in cross-section, forming a,

bight between the two retaining walls 16 and 18.

In preferred form of this invention the entire mail sorting'tray is made of sheet metal, either a single sheet.

cut and bent to the shape shown or more than one piece of sheet metal cut and bent and connected either by welding or other conventional means .to form the mail sorting tray illustrated in the drawing. The use ofmetal is of course purely illustrative and the same device may be made of wood or plastics. or any other suitable material.

In the use of this device, a plurality of letters 40 are placed on each of the two platforms 12 and 14. Since the platforms are tilted toward each other and also forwardly, the letters would tend to slip off were it not for retaining walls 16, 18, 20 and 22. Since these retaining walls are disposed at right angles to said platforms, they too are inclined or tilted as is clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The letters are placed'in the precise positions shown in the drawings, that is, with their respective stamped corners in the lower right hand corner of each platform, the addressed and stamped sides of said letters facing upwardly. Thus, both groups of letters are ori ented in similar manner with respect to the pigeonholes which are usually situated behind and above the mail sorting tray. It is thereby possible to remove the letters from platform 12with the left hand and from platform 14 with-the-right hand, and without'transferring-the letters from either hand to the other, to deposit them inthe appropriate pigeonholes- In view of the relative positions of the mail sorting tray andv the pigeonholes, as above described, it. is clear from the construction of said mail sorting tray that there are no obstructions to the removal of the letters therefrom. The letters are free to be grasped at their outer side edge the letters on platform 14 by the fingers of the right hand and the letters on platform 12 by the fingers of the left hand. There is no back wall or outer side wall to obstruct the hands in their movement toward the letters or to obstruct the letters in their movement away from the mail sorting tray and toward the pigeonholesj The triangular-shaped front retaining walls 20 and 22 are never in the way and their presence is solely for the purpose of preventing the letters from slipping oif the forward ends of the platforms.

When it is desired to eliminate the use of a supporting table for saidmail sorting tray, a supporting means 42 may be employed in the place and stead of a table. This supporting means includes a stand 44 of any conventional construction in order to stand the device on a floor or other convenient supporting structure. On top of stand 44 is a pair of tilted walls 46 and 48 respectively which are joined at their upper ends by means of a connecting strip 50. As shown in FIG. 3, said tilted walls 46 and 48 may be welded or otherwise secured to the upper end of stand 44. The angles of inclination of said walls 46 and 48, and their spacing, correspond to that of retaining walls 16'and 18 of the mail sorting tray proper. Projecting outwardly from the lower ends of walls 46 and 48 are platforms 52 and 54 which are tiltedto conform to the angular positions of platforms 12 and 14 of the mail sorting tray. As shown in the drawing,sthe mail sorting tray may be placed upon platforms 52 and 54, retaining walls 16 and 13 being disposed flat against walls 46 and 48 of the supporting means.

It will now be observed that the two trays which comprise the mail sorting tray herein claimed are staggered with respect to each other, one being partly forward of the other. In the illustrated form ofv the invention, the tray on the right side is forward of the tray on the left side and this has been found to render the device even more convenient to right-handed mail sorting clerks. In

the case of a left-handed mail sorting clerk, it may be found more desirable to place the left hand tray forwardly of the tray on the right. It is of course to be understood that this staggered relationship is merely preferred but it is not essential to the operation of the present device. The two trays need not be staggered relative to each other. However, whatever relationship these trays bear to each other, that will be the same relationship which the two platforms 52 and 54 and their supporting walls 46 and 48 will bearto each other. Thus, in FIG. 4, they. are shown to be staggered in the same manner as the two trays shown in FIG. 1. What prevents the trays from slipping forwardly oif platforms 52 and 54 is the pair of downwardly projecting endwalls 26 and 28 above mentioned. These walls abut the back ends of platforms 52 and 54 and serve as stop mern bers'relative thereto. It will be understood from this description that it is a very easy matter to place the mail sorting tray herein claimed upon the supporting means shown in FIG. 4 and it is an equally easy matter to remove it therefrom.

Turning now to the secondform of this invention and to FIGS. 6 and 7, it willbe observed that supporting means shown in FIG. 7 is similar to supporting means 42, shown in FIG. 4, except that flanges 62 and 64 are formed on the front edges of supporting walls 46a and 48a and flanges 66 and 63 are formed on the front edges of platforms 52a and 54a. These flanges 62, 64, 66 and 6S serve as retaining members preventing mail sorting trays 70, shown in FIG.6, from slipping off platforms 52a, and 54a of said supportingmeans 60.

.Although only one mailsortingztray is shown in FIG. 6, it will be understoodthattwo such trays are,

used; simultaneously onsupporting means 69; one on platform 52a and resting against wall 46a and the other on platform 54a and resting against wall 48a. Each tray 70 comprises a bottom wall 72, a side wall 74 and a pair of end walls 76 and 78 respectively. Walls 74, 76 and 78 are disposed at right angles to each other and to bottom wall 72. A double hinged cover 80 is provided on side wall 74, said cover consisting of two panels 88 and 90 respectively and a pair of hinges 92 and 94 respectively. Panel 88 is connected to wall 74 by means of binge 92 and panel 90 is secured to panel 88 by means of binge 94. When the cover is swung in clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 6, into closed position, pmel 88 will rest upon the top edges 96 of end walls 76 and 78 and panel 90 will abut diagonal walls 98 of said walls. It be understood that this cover arrangement is purely illustrative and other forms may be used. The sole object of the use of a cover is to hold the letters in place on platform 72 when the mail sorting tray is moved from place to place as a mail carrying means. For example, it may thus be moved from one station or operation to another, as to the mail sorting station at which the mail is removed from said tray and deposited in pigeonholes.

The foregoing is illustrative of preferred forms of this invention and it will be understood that these forms may be modified and other forms may be devised within the broad scope of the basic principles of this invention as above described.

We claim:

1. A mail sorting tray of the character described comprising a pair of generally rectangular mail supporting platforms disposed adjacent to each other, said platforms being tilted toward each other, their near side edges being disposed at a lower level than their far side edges, a pair of retaining walls connected to said platforms along their lower near side edges to support the mail disposed on said platform, a pair of additional retaining walls being connected to said platforms along their lower front ends to cooperate with the first-mentioned retaining walls in supporting the mail, the several retaining walls being disposed in substantially perpendicular relation to the planes of the mail supporting platforms to which they are respectively connected.

2. A mail sorting tray in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first mentioned retaining walls are disposed in substantially perpendicular relation to the planes of their respective mail supporting platforms, said first mentioned retaining walls being joined along their lower edges to the near side edges of said platforms, said first mentioned retaining walls being joined along their upper edges to each other.

3; A mail sorting tray in accordance with claim 1, wherein said additional retaining walls are disposed in substantially perpendicular relation to the planes of their respective mail supporting platforms, said additional retaining, walls being joined along their lower edges to the lower front ends of said platforms, the near side edges of said additional retaining walls being joined to the front edges of said first mentioned retaining Walls.

4. A mail sorting tray in accordance with claim 3, wherein said additional retaining walls are generally triangular in shape, each defining a right angle triangle in which the hypotenuse is the only free side edge, extending from the vicinity of the far side edges of the two platforms to the vicinity of the upper edges of the first mentioned retaining walls.

5. A mail sorting tray in accordance with claim 1, wherein one of said mail supporting platforms is disposed in part forwardly of the other mail supporting platform, in staggered relationship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 660,541 Field Oct. 23, 1900 1,966,555 Le Febure July 17, 1934 2,631,042 Bertram Mar. 10, 1953 2,691,447 Schiffer Oct. 12, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,096,433 France Feb. ,2, 1955 

